Screech owl nesting in new owl box
We’ve been sadly without a screech owl family for several years after losing our owl-box tree and having to move the box. We actually have two owl boxes now — one in the front yard and one in the back. Since January (when nesting season begins) I’ve been glancing up every time I pass by, hoping to see an owl, and feeling a little crestfallen by the seemingly empty boxes.
But now LOOK! An owl!!
I believe we have a nesting female in our front-yard box. There’s another screech owl hanging out in the trees — her mate. Once or twice I’ve spotted him, and other times I just hear him calling to her. They are remarkably camouflaged against live oak trunks and active after dark, when it’s even harder to see. As the sun goes down, the female scrabbles up the inside of the box and appears at the opening.
She flies out for a short time — stretching her wings? Going to the bathroom? Getting a drink of water?
And then she comes back. I’m guessing she’s sitting on eggs.
What a thrill to have these beautiful little owls nesting in one of our owl boxes again!
I’ll be looking up, hoping for a sighting, each time I walk by.
And eventually, if all goes well, owlets!
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I have an owl box high in my cedar elm facing east. I think it’s properly positioned, but it has never had an owl and it’s been up for at least a decade. I don’t have anyone to reposition it, anyway, so I just wait. Yours gives me a twinge of envy but I translate that to hope. (We did have a screech owl spend a lot of time on our pergola years back.)
They do seem awfully picky sometimes, when we’ve put out seemingly the perfect nesting spot for them. We were feeling frustrated too when we had to move our owl box, and the owls said, “No, thank you.” We put up a second box in a different spot, but nobody moved in. So last fall we moved both boxes, and now — success! If you’re feeling motivated, I’d suggest hiring someone to move your box, or leave it there and put a new one in a different spot — just to see if that proves more enticing.
So fun! Thank you for sharing. And providing a home for them.
It IS fun. What a joy to have wild creatures sharing our gardens with us.